We're Okay
by hayleynymphadora
Summary: A normal day in the Johnson-Jefferson household, before they get a call from Mark, Maureen's ex, who seems to still have feelings for Maureen. Their constant flirting makes Joanne start to question who Maureen loves more-Joanne, or Mark. One-shot.


Joanne sat at the kitchen table, filing papers for work. Maureen sat across from her, watching Joanne's delicate chocolate hands sort through piles and piles of stuff that Maureen wouldn't know anything about, no matter how hard she would try to understand it. The two of them sat in silence, until the phone rang, and ruined the quiet fortress. They let the phone screen to voice mail.  
"Hi, you've reached Joanne Jefferson-"  
"-AND Maureen Johnson!"  
"Sorry we couldn't make it to the phone!"  
"But you know what to do!"  
*Beep*  
"Hey, Maureen..It's me."  
Recognizing the voice instantly, Maureen rushed to the phone and picked it up.  
"Hey, Mark!" she said, plopping herself down on the couch.  
Joanne could practically hear the smile on Maureen's face. She almost rolled her eyes out of jealousy. It's not that she hated Mark-honestly, she didn't mind the man that much. It was just...didn't he get enough of Maureen when they all hung out together everyday? Though Joanne was working at this particular moment, this was still her time with Maureen.  
As she heard Maureen's giggles coming from the living room, her jaw set. She knew that Mark was still in love with Maureen, and it wasn't as if she could really blame him, but she just wished that Mark would back off a bit and let her have her chance with Maureen, seeing as he'd already had his.  
"Ok, sure," Joanne heard Maureen say. "See you then. Bye!"  
Joanne went back to sorting her files and Maureen came up behind her, rubbing her shoulders.  
"You should take a break, Pookie. You've been at this for hours!" Maureen dragged the last word out dramatically.  
"Ok," Joanne said without hesitation. "What should we do?"  
"Everyone's meeting at the Life Cafe," Maureen said. "They want us to meet them up there. Roger has something to tell all of us..."  
Joanne's hopes fell slightly. She had hoped that her and Maureen could do something with just the two of them. She had meant to say this to Maureen, but instead what came out was,  
"Since when do you get along with Roger?"  
Maureen froze when Joanne said that. She had said it with such...hatred. Almost a loathing. Was she mad?  
"It-it was Mark that wanted us to go..." she said, confused.  
'Oh, well, since MARK wants us too...' Joanne thought feverishly.  
Aloud, she just simply replied,  
"Alright, honeybear, we can go if that's what you want."  
"Do YOU want to go?" Maureen asked, putting the phone back and getting her black fake-jacket.  
"Well, Roger's got something to tell us, so..."  
"Alright,"Maureen said, not entirely convinced as Joanne grabbed her own jacket and the house key.  
Maureen followed her lover out the door, catching up to her and taking her hand. Joanne didn't shy away from Maureen's grasp, but she didn't completely accept it either. Maureen noticed right away.  
"You're mad at me," she accused.  
"I am not mad," Joanne protested.  
"You're not happy though," Maureen said. "What's wrong?"  
To silence her, Joanne kissed her forehead.  
"Absolutely nothing, I promise you."  
That seemed to have Maureen convinced-at least to the point where she stopped asking about it.  
Instead of taking a cab, the couple walked the short distance to the Life Cafe, not speaking much to each other at all. The fact that Maureen had everything to say to mark yet nothing to say to her girlfriend, put Joanne on edge.  
Once inside the Life Cafe, Maureen greeted everyone with a kiss on the cheek, saving Mark for last. Joanne swore that Maureen lingered an extra few seconds when she kissed him. Trying to ignore Mark and Maureen's obvious chemistry, Joanne hugged everyone and sat down at the table in between the two of them.  
As everyone else sat down, Roger and Mimi stood up, grinning from ear to ear. Joanne already knew where this was going.  
"Ok, you guys, attention this way for a second, you'll have plenty of time to catch up later..." Roger said. "Mimi and I have something to tell you..."  
Silence fell, and then Mimi showed off her left hand in excitement. All eyes fell towards her hand, a ring glittered on her finger.  
Angel practically screamed in excitement, rushing over towards Mimi to examine the rock on her finger and congratulate her. Maureen beamed, Collins and Mark hollered, and Joanne smiled. Joanne was happy for the two of them, truly. But the thought of Roger and Mimi getting married brought back memories from Maureen&Joanne's attempted commitment ceremony. It never even made it past the dinner-the two of them had gotten into a huge fight and were broken up for months before they came to their senses.  
The truth was, no matter how much it broke Joanne's heart, Maureen was terrified of commitment. Maureen had gotten better at the whole stay-with-one-person-if-you-truly-love-them concept, and Joanne was proud of her, no doubt. She just wished Maureen would give Mark some time to get over her, and focus more on the relationship she was already in for a while.  
The friends all congratulated Mimi and Roger, and ordered drinks in celebration. When Joanne's drink arrived, (A scotch on the rocks with a twist), she downed a quarter of it immediately, which didn't go unnoticed by Maureen, who gave a crooked grin.  
"Woah, Pookie. What's the rush?" she asked.  
"No rush," Joanne answered. Maureen just rolled her eyes playfully and started talking to Mark across Joanne.  
"So how is it going at Buzzline?" she asked him.  
"Ahh, I quit." he said, sounding almost regretful about it.  
"What? Why?!"  
"Alexi was treating me more like a slave than a camera-man." Mark explained.  
"Well, Buzzline just lost a great camera-man," Maureen said. "I hope is pleased with herself."  
"Maureen, I though you always hated my camera!"  
"Only because when we were together you filmed me NONSTOP!" Maureen protested, with a grin.  
This time Joanne finished the glass off in a gulp and ran her hand through her hair.  
"I couldn't help filming you!" Mark said defensively. "The camera loves you!"  
"Oh, stop it," Maureen said, clearly not wanting him to stop.  
"Honestly!" Mark continued. "And it's not as if you didn't enjoy the attention, Reena." he gave a warm smile.  
Maureen's face when Mark brought out her old nickname made Joanne sick to her stomach. It was a look that told Joanne, without words, how much Maureen missed her ex-boyfriend. That was when the tears in Joanne's eyes started to form. She passed it off as a yawn and stood up, pushing her chair in.  
"Pookie, where are you going?" Maureen asked.  
"Bathroom," Joanne answered. "Not that you'll miss me much," she added under her breath, as she walked away. She had thought that she said it quiet enough so no one else had heard her, but Maureen had heard anyways, and sat in shock as her girlfriend left the table.  
Joanne burst into the empty bathroom, her eyes swimming with tears. This was one of the reasons why she hated to love Maureen-she made her cry in public.  
When Joanne was growing up, she was taught to shove her emotions aside whilst among others. Because what lawyer shows emotion? They need good poker faces to win all the right cases. Every night Joanne would cry herself to sleep to not let the emotions and pain show during the day. But her love for Maureen was stronger than any other emotion. This wasn't just one of those things she could cast aside until later. She just wasn't strong enough to overcome her feelings for Maureen like that. Her body wouldn't allow it.  
And so she wept silently, trying to dry her tears with the sleeve of her coat, yet they kept falling down her mocha-colored, beautiful face, defeating the purpose. As she cried, she thought about Maureen. About her gorgeous features. About her grip of romance, about her chipper voice when she talked to Mark.  
Mark.  
Just admit that she still loves Mark.  
But before Joanne could think any more about it, the bathroom door flew open and there stood Maureen, a look of deep concern plastered about her face.  
"Joanne, what's wrong?" she asked.  
Joanne. Not Pookie.  
Joanne spun around, hiding the tears from the woman she loved and trying to make them go away. Maureen gently spun Joanne back around to face her, wiping her tears for her.  
"Hey," Maureen whispered, softly, taking Joanne's hands in her own. "Tell me what's on your mind."  
"Pick one of us, Maureen." Joanne said.  
Maureen paused. "What?"  
"Who do you love more, me or Mark? Pick one."  
"You," Maureen answered without hesitation. "I love you."  
"And you're not just saying that?"  
"No."  
"How can I know that for sure this time?"  
Maureen kissed each of Joanne's cheeks,her forehead, and then her lips before replying,  
"Joanne Jefferson," she said.  
Joanne. Not Pookie.  
"If I loved Mark more, I would have stayed out there. I wouldn't have noticed how troubled you looked when you left. I wouldn't have followed you in here, and I wouldn't be giving you this."  
She handed Joanne a silver locket in the shape of a heart.  
"What's this?" Joanne asked shakily. Maureen put the locket around Joanne's neck and fastened it.  
"This is my promise that I love you more than I ever did, will, or do love anyone else. Ok? Even Mark. Especially Mark. This is my promise that no matter what, you're more important. You are my world."  
Joanne hugged Maureen tightly and whispered three words-  
"I love you."  
"I love you too, Joanne."  
And Joanne knew that Maureen meant it this time.


End file.
